The Home Front
Before the official start of the holiday Emily did an amazing job of entertaining the kids at home. She also had to prep extra food for the old two kids as they were off school and prepared special food for our visits to friends homes.
Here are the kids in the "tent" that Emily created in their bedroom
Emily got a new wok over the holiday; she had used her old one for over five years
New Year's with Our Chinese Friends
After living in Shanghai for over five years we were delighted when our Chinese friends, who we first met over four years ago at East China Normal University preschool, invited us into their home for traditional Chinese New Year food. Like Christmas and Thanksgiving in the U.S. this holiday is a time for family gatherings and special foods; however, it is our experience that Chinese people will take longer before they invite you into their home to share a special holiday meal. What a gift to spend time with these dear friends and gain a deeper understanding of how they celebrate this holiday!
The "spread" of special dishes filled the entire dining room table.
Some of our favorites included homemade sausage, braised pork (Hong Shao Rou)
and French Champagne (that our friend had hand carried back from France!
Our friends also spent the entire afternoon making
homemade dumplings that filled nearly the whole desk!
Before dinner we enjoyed the tradition of lighting off fireworks - Here is Asa with a sparkler
Our friend lit a fountain firework that lit up the freshly fallen snow - a rare appearance in Shanghai.
New Year's Eve in Our Neighborhood
Walking around our neighborhood it was amazing to see all of the decorations and "signs of the season".
The kids stand in front of the mysterious children statues that seem to be everywhere.
The fruit stand across the street was stocked full of fruit basics that nearly filled the street!
We are so thankful for several foreign families in our neighborhood who were also stayed in town for the holiday. We spent the evening eating more food and setting off fireworks.
The "peanut gallery" of children stand watching the fireworks.
The highlight from our small fireworks display was a "Peacock Fountain"
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